Let's Make A Deal - Part One

We've all done it -- you may even have started doing it when you were a little kid, with bubble gum cards and comic books. I'm talking about trading, bartering and swapping – the technique of getting what you want whether you have money or not, honestly and legally.

Barter is older than money. Until currency was developed, people had to rely on barter and trade to get essentials and non-essentials alike. Today, barter seems to be reclaiming its niche in the business world. There are websites devoted solely to organizing barter transactions among corporations and companies world-wide. In North America, the International Reciprocal Trade Association has some interesting statistics, showing a steady growth in the number of businesses who actively use barter and barter currency, instead of loonies, bobs and bucks, in their transactions with other businesses.

Business-oriented organizations like the IRTA usually share some common features:

• A currency they can call their own: For barter systems to work well, members must be able to trade something they have for something they need, without relying on serendipity. For example, if you are in dire need of some forks, but have plenty of spoons, you may be able to meet the one person in the world who has lots of forks and no spoons. Chances are, however, the person who would exactly meet your needs doesn't exist. And that's where the barter currency comes in. Person A can trade his spoons to person B for some barter currency, and then trade his barter currency to Person C, who has all the forks. Having a barter currency eases the transaction considerably, and makes barter much more attractive.

• Membership limited to businesses only: We're usually talking big volume, big-dollar transactions here, so it makes sense to limit membership. (I don't want several thousand forks; half a dozen would more than meet my needs.)

• Traceable and monitored record-keeping: Nobody wants to run afoul of the tax department, and since barter transactions are not tax-exempt, businesses need to keep accurate records.

• Membership fees: I guess the cost of record-keeping alone would be enough to justify the membership fees, usually in the hundreds of (U.S.) dollars. Fees can cover a variety of other services as well, including newsletters.

  Online, I've run across many, many organizations devoted entirely to barter among businesses, nationally and internationally. And for some reason, online barter clubs for the average Joe Consumer just don't seem as prevalent.

  Part 2 of this series takes another look at barter, and how it can be used for the likes of you and me.

  The copyright of the article Let's Make A Deal - Part One in Thrifty Living is owned by Donna Dunn. Permission to republish Let's Make A Deal - Part One in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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